Politico Playbook: Mitt's moment

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. -- Good morning. From the Spin Room to the Carl's Jr. near the headquarters hotel, The Politico's informal read of the consensus order of finish for last night's GOP Presidential Candidates Debate in the Air Force One Pavilion of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library:

1) Mitt Romney

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2) John McCain

3) Rudy Giuliani

4) Mike Huckabee

5) Duncan Hunter

6) Ron Paul

7) Sam Brownback

8) Jim Gilmore

9) Tommy Thompson

10) Tom Tancredo

Politico.com received more than 4,200 questions for interactive rounds with the candidates, the first time an audience in a presidential debate had been invited to act as co-moderator.

Giuliani's wife, Judith, was the only family member who rushed the stage afterward, and she took her man's arm and led him away before the kibitzing began.

Romney made a beeline (Beehive State) for former first lady Nancy Reagan, who had been escorted to her front-row seat by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

She was escorted out of the hall by Frederick J. Ryan Jr., chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation, and president and CEO of The Politico.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Romney, his wife Ann and two of their sons formed a receiving line, shaking hands with everyone who exited the pavilion stage right.

It was a strong night for Romney because he made effective use of this high profile (and perhaps last) chance to bridge the gap between public awareness and perception of his candidacy, which has been bruised in the early months of this year, and the very solid position he holds among Republican donors and Bush-Cheney financial backers, strategists and staff alumni.

Margaret Carlson of The Week said Romney was "apple-polishing" and "the teacher's pet."

"If you put McCain and Romney together last night, you'd have one normal person," she said.

The buzz about Sen. McCain of Arizona was more lukewarm than his performance, which was vigorous and passionate.

McCain joked about the roller coaster of media coverage as he paused to chat with Playbook and WJLA's Gordon Peterson after his walk-through on the stage Thursday afternoon, saying he was enjoying the current "surge" in his coverage, but noting ruefully it could change quickly.

"Steady strain!" he said, citing an old Navy expression he often invokes.

Former New York Mayor Giuliani surprised with answers on abortion that would not appeal to Republican base voters. But his views are his views, and maybe they would be fine in a general election.

What mystified so many debate attendees was that his answers were not clear or convincing, and employed the weak construction "OK."

One Republican strategist said Giuliani left the impression he had not adequately prepared on a topic that was sure to bedevil him.

Said Republican strategist Mike Murphy, who's unaffiliated in the contest: "If there's one thing he should have prepared for, that was it."

On Romney: "People who wondered what all the fuss is about got a taste of it. He had the advantage of being a little more unknown, so he could surprise."

On McCain, moving to the center on stem cells and President Bush: "He was reclocking a bit to the old reform McCain, not-afraid-to-tell-it-like-it-is courage."

Tucker Carlson, whose "Tucker Carlson Live" again filled the Imus slot on MSNBC, offered this devastating take on Giuliani's answer: "I'm against it but I supported it." Willie Geist added: "It reminds me of Hillary's position on the war."

Margaret Carlson, with Tucker Carlson: "The mayor is a star in his own firmament. ... When he's with others, he doesn't do as well and he doesn't like it. And you'd think he'd have an answer on whether he's pro-choice or pro-life that isn't as confusing as the one he gave."

She said that after his initial "rambling" answer, "He thought he had to be honest."

Before dipping a little further into the debate file, a little breaking news, on a media advisory handed to reporters when they picked up their credentials at the debate: "The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation will host the final GOP presidential debate before the 2008 'Super-Tuesday' primary in California and several other key states.

"Mrs. Ronald Reagan will extend invitations to the front-runner GOP Presidential candidates to return to the Reagan Library for this final debate, which will be held on Wednesday, January 30, 2008...."

"'Ronnie always believed that debates are a great way for voters to hear candidates discuss the issues,' said Nancy Reagan. 'He would be so pleased that his Presidential Library is serving such an important role in the election process.' "

Round 1 was sponsored by the Reagan Presidential Library, in conjunction with MSNBC and The Politico.

NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd told a local affiliate that Romney had "the best style night," while McCain had "the best substance night," with Giuliani turning in a more disappointing performance.

Joe Scarborough said as MSNBC wrapped up its marathon coverage: "This is just a debate but certain people pop in a debate and certain people don't. Tonight, it was Mitt Romney who seemed to break out of the pack."

Co-moderator John F. Harris, at what Jonathan Martin would call 3:15 a.m. Reagan Daylight Time, chatted with John Roberts on CNN's "American Morning," and saluted Romney for "a polished, professional performance that's clearly going to attract second notice."

He said McCain "certainly went out of his way to give reassurance that he is pro-life, as most conservative activists in the Republican Party are. ... He gave a pretty good performance as well - a little halting at the beginning."

On Giuliani: "The conventional wisdom on abortion is that you need to take a clear stand - you can't straddle."

The count by ABC's John Berman, dean of the nascent Romney press corps, and ABC's David Chalian: President Ronald Reagan, 16 mentions by the candidates over the course of the debate; President George W. Bush, just one mention by name (Sen. Brownback of Kansas saying Scooter Libby's pardon is up to the president).

Speaking of deans, Peggy Noonan, in " An Incomplete Field: First impressions of the GOP's 2008 candidates," concludes: "If we view the proceedings in vulgar and reductive Who Won, Who Lost terms, and let's, Mitt Romney won, Rudy Giuliani lost, and John McCain is still in. ... Mr. McCain seemed alert, and full of effort.

"Somehow he seemed both high-energy and creaky. ... Mr. Giuliani seemed unsure at first, and was badly lit, or badly made up since he had the same lighting as everyone else. He did not make a strong impression until he spoke on abortion, and then it was a bad one....

"The statuesque Mr. Romney had a certain good-natured command, a presidential voice, and a surprising wiliness. He seemed happy to be there, and in the mysterious way that some people seem to dominate, he dominated."

Here are some of my notes from interviews in the Spin Room:

*Giuliani Campaign Manager Mike DuHaime: "I think, overall, it was a very good debate for the mayor. People are going to see this as somebody who's ready right now to be president, somebody who took on a really tough job in New York City, one of the toughest in America, and did a great job.

"One of the best things about the debate tonight is that people will see what a good job he did in terms of being an economic conservative when he was mayor of New York: somebody who cut taxes, somebody who cut spending, somebody who moved people off of welfare and into work, somebody who not only was a great leader in some of America's most difficult days but somebody who had a tremendous record as mayor before that as a fiscal conservative. He did great -- somebody who's very comfortable and somebody who did a good job."

Um, what about abortion? "I think he made his personal feelings clear - that he hates abortion. If anybody asked him, he would counsel somebody for an adoption. He's somebody who has a record, actually, when he was mayor, encouraging adoption.

"Adoption went up over 60 percent, abortions went down. He's somebody who's got a record on this. But, ultimately, if someone has a difference of conscience, he doesn't think that should be criminalized."

*Tagg Romney, the oldest son: "That was my dad. What you see is what you get." He was accompanied by the Spin Room sign for his Dad, but someone had resourcefully crossed out "Mitt" with a Sharpie and written "Tagg." ("Mitt" is his middle name, so they could have added "Tagg" up top.)

*Alex Castellanos, for Romney: "I saw the Mitt Romney who inspired me. I thought he's just amazing -- tremendous command of the issues, great intellect. And I thought he was presidential."

Asked about a favorite answer, Castellanos said: "I kinda liked all of 'em. I thought he was very good on health care, and that's unusual ground for a Republican to score points on. More than that, one of the big questions tonight you could see up there, and you began to see a little schism: Is the Republican Party a two-legged stool? And it's not.

"It wasn't for Ronald Reagan. Ronald Reagan, at a time when this country needed all its strength, strengthened the military and our security, strengthened our economy and got us growing. But he also restored our inner strength, and family and sanctity [of] life. And I think you saw that in Mitt Romney tonight like you saw that in no other candidate.

*It's not just a political calculation, of putting together the Reagan coalition. It's: What does this country really need? I think you saw that in Mitt."

*Ben Ginsberg, on what he thinks viewers took away about Romney (for whom he is working): "The presence, the presidential approach, the grasp and mastery of the issues that he shows. The sense of humor - real guy. I thought he did both foreign and domestic issues really well and I think it was a great introduction for him to a broader audience."

*McCain Communications Director Brian Jones: "He was able to clearly talk about the big issues facing the country. He was able to clearly articulate a vision: talked about wasteful government spending, the need to win the fight against Islamic fundamentalists, the importance of appointing conservative judges. I thought he did an excellent job making the case for why he should be commander in chief. I think he settled in nicely. For a lot of the candidates, it's like a pitcher in the first few innings, getting settled in. He did a real good job articulating his vision for why he should be president."

*Charlie Black, for McCain: "John McCain had a great night -- got the chance to explain to people why he wanted to be president, reminded people that he's the most experienced and prepared candidate to be president. He got to talk a lot about what he considers the two biggest issues facing the next president: war and Islamic extremism, and getting control of the federal spending. So we were very happy, and he showed a lot of passion tonight. We thought he had a great night."

*Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, on what it was like to be up there: "It was a great experience. It's very humbling to think that you are running for president with this distinguished group of candidates and that you have an opportunity to speak directly to the American people in a national campaign. Technically speaking, it's very difficult because there were 10 people and I just continued to see questions flying off to other people that I would have liked to have answered, and you never get back to 'em. That's the whole challenge. But that's why we have a long campaign. There's still time to address some of these other issues."